Adaptor for use with the turntable spindle of a record changing mechanism



Sept. 4, 1956 y 1-1 DA COSTA 2,761,687

ADAPTOR FOR US WITH THE TURNTABLE SPINDLE OF' A RECORD CHANGING MECHANISM Filed July 25, 1952 United States Patent O ADAPTOR FOR USE WITH THE TURNTABLE LSPIlIJE OF A RECORD CHANGING MECH- Harry Da Costa, Snaresbrook, London, England, assigner to The Plessey Company Limited, Ilford, England, a British company Application VJuly 25, 1952, Serial No. 300,952

1 Claim. (Cl. 2`74--10) This invention relates to an adaptor for use with the turntable spindle of a record changing mechanism of the type which contains a pivotal ejector for moving the lowermost record of a stack o a ledge or shelf onto the turntable.

The adaptor for use with a phonograph spindle for record changers comprises in combination a casing divided into three sections, the lower section consisting of a hollow tubular element, the intermediateV section rotatably mounted upon the lower section has a central bore and two diametrically opposed slots, the upper section being bored and olf-set in relation to the intermediate section, thereby forming a shelf on the upper surface of the intermediate section, the three sections constituting as a phonograph spindle, a horizontal ejector plate slidably mounted between the intermediate and upper sections of said casing, said ejector plate having diametrical slots, a bow spring mounted transversely between said ejector plate and upper surface of the intermediate section of said casing thereby reducing surface tension on said ejector, a bifurcated spring within one slot in the intermediate section of said casing has the limbs thereof extending through one slot in said ejector normally retaining the ejector in the retracted position, a vertical cam lever pivotally mounted in the other slot in the intermediate section of said casing has the upper "end passing through the other slot in said ejector plate whereby actuation of the cam lever is caused by operation of the ejector mechanism provided in the existing phonograph spindle to impart a transverse movement of said ejector plate against the tension of the bifurcated spring.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a section partly in elevation of an adaptor fitted to a record changer spindle in position for supporting a stack of records.

Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 showing the position of the mechanism for releasing the lowermost record of the stack.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the spindle of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings- A cylindrical casing of synthetic resin is divided into three separate parts 1, 2, 3. The lower part 1 and intermediate part 2 are co-axial, but the upper portion 3 is ott-set and has a cut-away face 3a in relation to the lower and intermediate parts 1, 2, thereby forming a ledge 4 at the top of the intermediate part 2 for receiving and supporting a stack of records 5.

The intermediate part 2 of the casing has a centre hole 7 and two diametrically opposed slots 8 and 9. A cam lever 10 is pivotally mounted in the slot 8 and a U- shaped spring 11 is located in the other slot 9. A slotted ejector plate 12 and bow spring 13 are slidably mounted upon the intermediate part 2 of the casing. The ejector plate 12 has two diametrical slots 14, 1S. The slot 14 receives the end of the cam lever 10 which moves the ejector plate 12 against the tension of the spring 11 to eject the lowermost record from the stack. The other slot 15 receives the ends of the limbs of spring 11 and 2,761,687 Fatented Sept. 4, 1956 normally retains the ejector plate 12 in a retracted condition, as herein set forth. The purpose of the biassing spring 13 is to reduce the surface area and frictional losses between the top face of the intermediate part 2 and ejector plate 12 to a minimum caused by the weight of records on the ejector during the ejection operation.

The pivot for the cam lever 10 tits into a slot 16 formed on the intermediate part 2 and a latch plate 17 inserts into the slot 16, which in turn, is held in place by a slotted guide plate 18 inserted into the lower part 1 of the casing and the Whole assembly is secured together by screws 19.

The base of the lower part 1 of the casing is formed with three lugs 20 for positioning the adaptor in coinciding apertures in a phonograph turntable 21 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in dotted lines.

In operation, the adaptor is inserted over the record changing spindle 22 and is removably secured to the turntable 21 when the ejector 23 located in the record changer spindle 22 contacts the edge of the cam lever 10. A stack fof records 5 are threaded over the off-set portion 3 when the lowermost record of the stack rests upon the ledge 4, so that the edge of the ejector plate 12 is in line with the centre hole of said lowermost record. The lower part 1 of the casing revolves with the turntable and the assembly mounted thereon remains stationary. Upward axial movement of the ejector spindle 24 causes the ejector 23 in the record changer spindle 21 to swing in a clockwise direction thereby swinging the cam lever 10 which in turn moves the ejector plate 12 to release the lowermost record of the stack as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Movement of the ejector 23 in a reverse direction enables the ejector plate 12 to retract under the influence of the U-shaped spring 11, when the next lowest record is brought to rest upon the ledge 4.

I claim:

In an adaptor for use with a phonograph spindle for record changers comprising in combination a casing divided into three sections, the lower section consisting of a hollow tubular element, the intermediate section rotatably mounted upon the lower section has a central bore and two diametrically opposed slots, the upper section being bored and olf-set in relation to the intermediate section thereby forming a shelf von the upper surface of the intermediate section, the three sections constituting a phonograph spindle, a horizontal ejector plate slidably mounted between the intermediate and upper sections of said casing, said ejector plate having diametrical slots, a bow spring mounted transversely between said ejector plate and upper surface of the intermediate section of said casing thereby reducing surface tension on said ejector, a bifurcated spring within one slot in the intermediate section of said casing having the limbs thereof extending through one slot in said ejector normally retaining the ejector in the retracted position, a vertical cam lever pivotally mounted in the other slot in the intermediate section of said casing having the upper end passing through the other slot in said ejector plate whereby actuation of the cam lever imparts a transverse movement of said ejector plate against the tension of the bifurcated spring.

References Cited in thetile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,302,503 Proctor Nov. 17, 1942 2,490,678 Dale Dec. 6, 1949 2,523,045 Miller et al Sept. 19, 1950 2,549,246 Schweitzer Apr. 17, 1951 2,594,246 Ten Cate Apr. 22, 1952 2,662,772 Dobrogowski et al. Dec. 15, 1953 2,666,648 Dale Jan. 19, 1954 

